deantrippe:

Batman #47, redrawn by me and submitted to the super-cool Covered blog.

Here’s the original version of Batman #47, by Batman co-creator Bob Kane and inker Charles Paris, for one of the major expansions of Batman’s origin by writer and frequently overlooked Batman co-creator Bill Finger.

This scene is my favorite moment in any story ever, but it’s often missed in retellings of Batman’s origin. In the original tale, a little boy dedicates his life to using all of his abilities to help everyone he can. To my mind, Batman doesn’t work without the mission beginning here, when Bruce is still a child, shortly after his parents’ deaths. It’s an eight-year-old’s response to the tragic crime that broke his world.

What I needed was a superhero, so I shall become a superhero for everyone else.

I took some liberties with the arrangement of elements, placing the background props in the Batcave, altered the newspaper headline to include both Waynes together, and nixed the cover logos in favor of an more illustrative feel. I also decided to show young Bruce about a minute later than he appeared on the original cover, rising from his despair with steely resolve to save everyone everywhere from everything.

UPDATE: I’ve entered my interpretation of Batman #47 into the DC Chess Collection cover recreation contest. If you dig it, you can vote for it to win here.